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vendredi 20 janvier 2012

Morocco royal firm plays down profits amid protests

SNI, the investment holding company controlled by Morocco's royal family,
said its 2010 consolidated earnings were bolstered by a merger and its
performance last year was not as rosy as it seemed.

This week's
announcement of a surge in consolidated net profit and assets came amid
persistent street protests for King Mohammed to give up political powers and
reduce his business clout.)

In August SNI and ONA Group, in which SNI
already held a majority stake, both delisted from the Casablanca bourse to pave
the way for a merger that would see ONA transfer all its assets to SNI.

In an email sent to Reuters, SNI said the 8.3 billion dirhams ($1.05
billion) it reported as consolidated net profit for 2010 included 6.4 billion
dirhams generated from the adoption of International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) in the accounting processes for the merger of SNI and ONA".

"It should be noted that SNI posts a strong drop of 40 percent in its
statuory net profit at 648 million dirhams in 2010 against 1.1 billion dirhams
in 2009," it said.

The drop was due to the payment of "487 million
dirhams in taxes linked to the SNI-ONA merger and a rise in financial costs"
from SNI's purchase of ONA shares.

A market source had told Reuters the
rise in SNI's consolidated net profit "appears to have been fuelled by capital
gains on the transfer to SNI of assets ONA owned in listed firms".

The
political upheaval that has swept across North Africa triggered a wave of
protests in Moroccan cities calling for political reform although not an end to
the monarchy. Morocco's leaders are desperate to prevent the unrest
intensifying.

The protest movements and many business leaders say firms
controlled by the king and his close inner circle dominate key economic sectors.
At times, demonstrators have carried placards reading 'SNI degage' -- or 'SNI
clear off'.